เข้าสู่ระบบแชร์
CHAPTER TWO — HIS PARANOIA
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด:
2026-01-31 18:40:17Aria's pov.
He had removed his jacket and his white shirt was rolled to his elbows, revealing his strong forearms.
The table was set with enough food for a small army. Eggs, toast, fresh fruit, pastries and even coffee.
Lucien sat at the head of the table, reading something on his tablet. He didn't look up when I entered.
"Sit down and eat," he said still not looking at me.
I sat across him and for a moment, neither of us spoke.
I picked up a piece of toast and that was when his eyes finally lifted.
He watched me take a bite with an intensity that made my skin prickle. Like he was cataloging every movement and every micro-expression, looking for signs that I was planning something.
"I'm not going to run," I said quietly.
His lips curved into something that might have been a smile on anyone else. But on Lucien, it just looked bitter.
"You've said that before, usually right before you try something creative."
"I mean it this time."
"You've said that before too." He set down his tablet and leaned back, studying me with those unreadable grey eyes. "Three weeks ago, you told me you were done fighting, that you understood I was just trying to protect you. You seemed so sincere."
He paused as something flickered across his perfect features, pain? maybe or anger.
"The next morning, you drugged the coffee you made for me and tried to steal my car keys while I was unconscious."
I flinched subconsciously, How come I didn't remember that but I actually believed him.
"I was wrong," I said. "About everything. About you, about Lydia, about Ethan…"
"Don't." Lucien said sharply as he stood up in one fluid motion, I saw his hands clench briefly before he controlled it. "Don't mention his name in my house."
There it was, real emotion breaking through that controlled facade. That was jealousy, raw and visceral.
"Lucien…"
"Eat your breakfast, Aria." His voice was cold again, perfectly controlled. "I have a meeting at nine."
He walked toward the door, then stopped.
"Marcus and Chen will be here within the hour. They'll stay with you while I'm gone. Don't try to seduce them because it won't work. Don't try to bribe them as well, they're paid very well. And don't try to outsmart them." He finally turned to look at me with his ice like grey eyes.
"Because if you manage to escape while I'm gone, within an hour, I will find you and when I do, I will not be gentle while I bring you back."
The threat should have terrified me, but Instead, it made my heart race for entirely different reasons.
Oh no, what was wrong with me? Why did his possessive control suddenly seem protective instead of suffocating?
"I won't try to escape," I said with the widest grin my thin lips could allow.
Lucien's expression didn't change. "We'll see about that."
He quietly walked out as I heard him giving instructions about security protocols and monitoring schedule to someone on his phone.
All because of me.
I continued eating as my mind began to race.
I couldn't just suddenly be the perfect, compliant wife. Lucien would never believe it, he would think it was another manipulation.
I needed to be smart about this and also strategic and I needed to deal with Lydia and Ethan, not by cutting them off, but by making them pay for what they'd done, no…what they were going to do.
But to do that, I had to keep them close. I had to let them think they still had a chance.
I was still picking at my food when I heard the front door open and close. Lucien was leaving for work.
A part of me wanted to run after him to see him one more time before he left but I hurriedly shook my head at the thought.
Two men in dark suits appeared in the doorway. They looked professional and alert. The kind of security only serious money could buy.
"Mrs. Blackwood," the taller one said with a slight nod. "I'm Marcus. This is Chen. We'll be here until Mr. Blackwood returns."
"I know," I said quietly. "He has told me."
Marcus's expression flickered with surprise. Usually, I would have been screaming about being babysat, about being treated like a prisoner.
But that won't be happening today… not anymore.
I spent the next hour trying to read, but I just couldn't focus. My mind kept drifting to Lucien. To the pain I'd seen flickering in his eyes, the way his voice had cracked, just for a moment, when he'd mentioned my escape attempts.
I'd broken something in him and I didn't know if I could fix it.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed, interrupting my train of thoughts.
Lydia: Hey babe! How are you feeling today? I'm worried about you. Can I come over? I miss you!
I stared at the message, bile rising in my throat.
In my previous timeline, if that was what it was, I would have immediately responded. I would have literally begged her to come, crying about how trapped I felt.
Now, seeing her message made my skin crawl but I still needed to play along, at least for now.
Me: I'm okay. I'm just tired. Maybe later this week?
Three dots appeared immediately.
Lydia: Later this week?! Aria, you tried to KILL yourself last night! I'm coming over RIGHT NOW. I won't take no for an answer.
My hands tightened on the phone.
Of course she was coming. She needed to make sure her manipulation was still working, she needed to drive that wedge between me and Lucien deeper.
Me: Okay. I'll tell security to let you up.
I went to Marcus. "My friend Lydia is coming over. Lucien knows her, she's been visiting regularly."
Marcus's expression tightened almost imperceptibly. "Mr. Blackwood left specific instructions about Ms. Moore."
"Which are?"
"She's to be allowed entry only if you explicitly request it." He paused. "And we're to remain in the apartment at all times during her visit."
บทล่าสุด
FORCED TO WED THE BILLIONAIRE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX — THE MATRIARCH'S SUBTLE REGRET
Aria's POVThe morning sun filtered through the high-performance glass of the medical wing, turning the sterile room into a soft, hazy gold color. Lucien was still asleep, his breathing deep and even for the first time in hours. I hadn't moved from his side. My head was rested on the edge of his mattress, my hand still tucked firmly in his.The quietness was shattered by the sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps in the hallway. These weren't the silent, tactical steps of Chen or Marcus. They were deliberate and commanding.The door slid open, and Helena Blackwood stepped inside.She wasn't wearing her usual structured boardroom armor. Instead, she wore a simple black silk wrap, her silver ha
FORCED TO WED THE BILLIONAIRE CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE — A LOVE MEAL
Aria's POVI sat by Lucien’s bed for hours, my hand locked in his. The nurse’s words looped in my mind, Genetic. Chronic stress. Alcohol. I looked at his pale face. This man, who moved mountains to keep me in a gilded cage, was crumbling from the inside out. Every time I had fought him, every time I had looked at him with cold suspicion, I had been pushing him closer to this bed. The guilt was like a heavy weight in my chest, heavier than the wooden box still tucked in my jacket.I didn't want to ask about Vane anymore. I didn't care about the boy on the beach or the "J" on the compass. Not right now. I just wanted the man in front of me to breathe without a machine.Around 4:00 A&z
FORCED TO WED THE BILLIONAIRE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR — UNFORSEEN DISCOVERY
Aria's POVI stood outside the glass doors of the private medical suite, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of Lucien’s chest. He looked fragile, pinned to the bed by plastic tubes and glowing wires. The high-tech hum of the monitors felt like a countdown I couldn't stop.Marcus stood by the door, his arms crossed over his chest. His suit jacket was off, his shirtsleeves were rolled up, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like a man who had been at war for forty-eight hours straight."He’s stable," Marcus said, though his voice lacked its usual iron. "But the doctors say the next few hours are critical. The strain on his heart was too much."I turned to him, the wooden box with the silver compasses still heavy in my pocket. "Marcus, talk to me. What really happened? You said it was the mission, but I saw the scars. That wasn't just shrapnel. That looked like a lifetime of trauma."Marcus tightened his jaw. He looked at
FORCED TO WED THE BILLIONAIRE CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE — THE UNEXPECTED COLLAPSE
Aria's POVLucien was still standing by the darkened television, his silhouette cast in jagged red by the emergency lights. He looked like a king standing amidst the ruins of his palace. His chest was heaving, his hand still white-knuckled around the grip of his gun."Lucien?" I stopped in my tracks as I called out.My voice was cold, filtered through the new layer of distrust I felt. I still had the wooden box tucked behind my back, the silver compasses biting into my palm. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to demand the name of the boy in the photo.But Lucien didn’t turn around.He stayed frozen, staring at the black screen where Vane’s face had been moments ago. Then, a strange sound came from him, a harsh, wet wheeze that sounded like air being forced through a crushed pipe.His gun slipped from his hand. It hit the thick carpet with a dull thud."Lucien!"My suspicion vanished, replaced by the sharp, electric jolt of my
FORCED TO WED THE BILLIONAIRE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO — STRANGER
Aria's POVThe library was too cold. The air felt thin and clinical, like everything else in the high-tech prison Lucien called a home. I stood against the mahogany shelves, my fingers tightening around the small wooden box. Inside, the silver compasses clinked. The sound was soft, but in the dead silence, it sounded like a warning.I turned the bent compass over and I felt the tiny, jagged engraving on the back.J & A.The letters were old and faded. A was for Aria. That was me. But the J was like a hole in my life. My mind searched for a name, a face, or a voice but I found nothing. The amnesia was a solid wall, cold and unyielding.Lucien had told me I was alone. When I woke up in that hospital bed, he was the only thing I had. He told me my parents were dead. He said I had no siblings. He said he was the only anchor I had left in a dangerous world.Liar.The thought didn't come from my brain. It came from my
FORCED TO WED THE BILLIONAIRE CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE — THE SHADOW AT THE DOOR
Aria's POVThe silence following my question was more than just an absence of sound, it was a physical weight. Lucien’s hand, usually an immovable anchor of strength, was trembling against my waist. The "Dark Lord" who had just dismantled a boardroom full of predators looked like he was staring at his own executioner."Lucien," I repeated, my voice dropping to a whisper as I searched his face. "Who is Vane? Why are you reacting like this?"He didn't answer. He couldn't. He looked at Marcus, a silent command passing between them that I couldn't decipher. Without a word, Lucien hauled me toward the private elevator, his stride frantic and disjointed.As the doors hissed shut, plunging us into the high-speed descent, Lucien finally turned to me. His eyes were no longer silver, they had darkened to something terrifyingly black."Vane is a ghost I thought I had buried, Aria," he rasped, his voice sounding like grinding stones. "
บางทีคุณอาจจะชอบ
Powerful Papa with Triplet Babies
Pink Dolphin632.1K viewsEx-Husband's Regret
Evelyn M.M4.6M viewsRevenge of the Hideous Lady
Moonlight966.0K viewsThe CEO's Ten Million Dollar Wife
R.C.BRIE15689.9K viewsThe Second Wife's Revenge
Noura writes147 viewsNaughty Empires [An Erotic Collection]
Naughtypen200 viewsTHE HEIRESS HE ALMOST LOST
Brendarose142 viewsBillionaire shadows
DAFFODIL 66 views
